The change from analog electronic circuitry to digital electronic circuitry in the consumer electronics industry has brought about wide spread change in the products utilized by consumers. Examples of this change can be seen in personal computer and digital telephone circuitry. In the personal computer field, data storage apparatus in the form of hard disk drives and DVD (digital versatile disks) drives have allowed consumers to store massive amounts of digital data and have the ability to send that data to various display apparatus. The use of digital electronic technology has also enabled the advent of high definition television (HDTV) which will provide televisions with better picture quality, better viewing aspect ratio, and larger viewing screens.
With the advent of new ATSC digital television standards, manufacturers have begun producing high definition televisions. At this time, a large segment of the broadcast industry has not implemented these new standards. This leaves the manufacturers of HDTV televisions with no economical means of demonstrating their products for sale.
Since no off-the-air or cable signals are available in a large part of the world, the manufacturers of HDTV(s) need a device that is capable of supplying an HDTV compatible output. This need can be filled with a player that includes large capacity disk storage devices and advanced video compression algorithms in a device which acts similarly to a known player such as video cassette recorder.
As in the video cassette recorder or player, there must be some media for storing the video programming. With HDTV, all of the video and audio information is digital. This new HDTV player utilizes either a hard disk drive or a DVD drive as the media for storing the audio and video content of the HDTV programming. In order to use the hard disk drive or DVD drive for the storage media, a method for retrieving the video data and converting it to 8-VSB (vestigial side band) signal must be developed, as 8-VSB is the modulation format used to transmit HDTV signals.
A need has arisen to provide an inexpensive means of demonstrating HDTVs at least until television broadcast stations are running HDTV broadcast signals.
Additionally, a need has developed to provide means for storing 8-VSB signals to allow those signals to be used to service HDTV monitors.
It is an objective of the present invention, generally stated, to provide a player for storing and sending HDTV format signals in a closed circuit to HDTVS.
More particularly, it is a further objective of the present invention to provide an HDTV player utilizing a hard disc drive, or a DVD drive, for storing and retrieving video data and converting it to 8-VSB format for use in a closed circuit to demonstrate and/or service HDTVs
The invention resides in a high definition TV player capable of utilizing at least one of a hard disk drive and a DVD drive as the media for storing the audio and video content of HDTV programming. In order to utilize the hard disk drive or the DVD drive for the storage media, video data must be storable therein, and retrieved by the player which converts it to the 8-VSB modulation format used to provide signals to HDTVs.